Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser introduced a new digital talent attraction strategy that includes a digital nomad program, allowing more foreigners to work and live in Canada.
In a special announcement at the Collision Conference in Toronto on Tuesday, Fraser said the digital nomad strategy would allow people with a foreign employer to work in Canada for up to six months.
“And should they receive a job offer while they’re here, we’re going to allow them to continue to stay at work in Canada,” said Fraser.
Fraser said it’s all part of a strategy to attract the most talented professionals from around the world to come work in Canada.
Fraser also announced a “new and dedicated pathway” for permanent residents who specifically either employ workers or work in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) sectors.
Also, a global skills strategy, initially launched five years ago to attract talent but hampered by processing delays, would be new and improved, said Fraser. The improvements would speed up processing of work permits to just two weeks, “so companies can have access to the talent they need, when they need it,” said Fraser.
The minister also re-announced an increase in the number of spaces in Canada’s visa program from 1,000 spaces a year to 3,500, creating “a pathway to permanent residency for entrepreneurs who create companies that would hire Canadians.”
On that last point, Fraser said Canada would prioritize applications within that system by focusing on features like whether a company has capital committed, or whether it’s received an endorsement from a “trusted partner.”
“But for those who are in the queue,” added Fraser, “we’re also going to issue open work permits for three years for them and their families to be in Canada while they wait for their applications to be completed.”
Fraser said Canada will also be developing a specific stream for “the world’s most highly-talented people” to be able to come to Canada to work for tech companies — whether they have a job offer or not.
Finally, Fraser said in reaction to what’s been going on in the tech sector in the U.S., “where we’ve seen the public narrative around layoffs,” Canada will have an avenue to attract workers from south of the border.
“As of July 16, we will have a stream that will allow 10,000 H-1B visa holders in the United States to come and work in Canada,” said Fraser.
“The reality, folks, you’ve got the ideas, but you need the talent. You’ve told us that and we’ve been listening,” said Fraser.
